20 2 13 aa a5 16 u 18 as 20 an CHARLES A. BONNER, ESQ. SB# 85413 A. CABRAL BONNER, ESQ. SB# 247528 LAW OFFICES OF CHARLES A. BONNER 475 GATE FIVE RD, SUITE 212 SAUSALITO, CA 94965 TEL: (415) 331-3070 FAX: (415) 331-2738 cbonner799@aol.com ‘cabral@bonnerlaw.com PAMELA Y. PRICE, ESQ SB# 107713 PAMELA Y. PRICE, ATTORNEY AT LAW 7677 OAKPORT STREET, SUITE 1120 OAKLAND, CA 94621 PHONE: 510-877-0024 FAX: 510-452-5625 ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF CLAIM FOR DAMAGES ie CLAIM FOR DAMAGES ' Government Code Section 910 et seq. Claimant, vs. CITY OF RICHMOND; RICHMOND POLICE DEPARTMENT; A.H.'; F.T.; A.M; MR. LT; AND DOES 1-50 INCLUSIVE, Respondents. INTRODUCTION Respondents are police officers, lieutenants, sergeants, their supervisors and employers, They are required and empowered to protect the weakest among us. When weak and vulnerable victims come to them for support and protection they have the obligation to help, not further tha horrors suffered by victims. Claimant J.A. was a victim, trapped in the sex trade since she was minor. She was exploited by pimps and made to sell her body for money. When she ran t Oakland Police Department Officer Brendan O’Brien seeking protection, he was legal ' The officers’ initials are used to protect their identities. Those officers whose names are already in the press are used in other parts of the claim. A list of the officers with the initials used for those officers will be served on the City Attomey with this claim. cham - 11 || obligated to help her, not exploit her. Instead of providing her a way out of her exploitation; 2 || Officer OBrien and his fellow officers and deputies, continued to traffic, rape, victimize wd 3 || exploit a teenage girl who needed to be rescued. 4 Oakland City Administrator Sabrina Landreth stated: “The City issued notices today tha 5 |fit intends to terminate four members of the Oakland police department. To the extent some o 6 |] these individuals may have already left the department, these findings will nonetheless be placed + || in their permanent personnel files. 8 “Each individual was found of [sic] committed one or more of the following offenses: 9 |Jattempted sexual assault, engaging in lewd conduet in public, assisting in the crime of ing in evading arrest for the crime of prostitution, accessing law enforcement 20 |] prostitution, as: 11 ||databases for personal gain, being untruthful to investigators, failing to report a violation of la 12 |Jor rules by not reporting allegations of a minor having or previously having sexual contact witl Oakland Police officers and bringing disrepute to the Oakland Police Department. In addition, 14 ||the City of Oakland issued notices of intent to suspend seven members of the Oakland Polic 15 || officers without pay and provide remedial training, for committing one or more of the followin, ¢ | offenses: failing to report a violation of law or rules by not reporting allegations of a mino: a7 ||having or previously having sexual contact with Oakland police officers, accessing lav 1g ||enforcement databases for personal gain, bringing disrepute to the Oakland police department! 29 || And lastly, in addition the City of Oakland issued a notice of intent to order counseling an 20 ][tsinng to one member of the Oakland Police Department for the following offence, bringing 21 |] disrepute to the Oakland police department.” 22 Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf admittedly and publicly recognized that the prior policie 2a [Jin place in the City of Oakland were not adequate, stating that the city is taking “proactiv 24 || department-wide changes and actions that will prevent this type of incident from ever happenin; 2s ||again” and that “appropriately, we will be changing several of our polici and training 26 |] requirements to increase officer awareness and ability to recognize the signs of sexual abuse an 27 || exploitation and better help victims escape such abuse. We will be tightening controls on acces: 2g || to our criminal databases and we will be establishing policies and trainings regarding the use o} ‘TORT CLAIM ~ 2ao 1 a2 a rey 18 social media... We've done the thorough investigation that was warranted to not only root out misconduct...” While the comments by City of Oakland officials are directed to the wrongful conduct o' their own officers and employees, they represent the nature of the conduct of all the officers ani deputies involved including the Richmond Police Department officers and others who 4 the exploitation of the Claimant.. As a result of this illegal and despicable police misconduct, Alameda County Distric Attomey Nancy O'Malley is filing criminal charges against seven current and former la enforcement officers, including five from the Oakland Police Department. Former Contra Cost County Sheriff's Deputy Ricardo Perez, who resigned as details of the scandal emerged, and Oakland police Officer Giovanni LoVerde have each been accused of felony oral copulation wit aminor. Perez will also be charged with two counts of engaging in a lewd act in a public place. Oakland police Officer Brian Bunton faces one count of felony conspiracy to obstruct justice. and one misdemeanor charge of engaging in an act of prostitution. Retired Oakland polic: Officer Leroy Johnson will be charged with one count of failing to report sexual misconduct concerning a minor. Oakland Police Officer Warit Uttapa will be accused of searching official criminal justice data and computer systems for an unauthorized purpose. Former Oakland polica Officer Tyrell Smith, who resigned in May, faces four counts of the same crime. While Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley’s comments were directed at the individuals whose criminal conduct occurred in Alameda County, hicr comments are equal applicable to the officers and deputies from cities and counties outside of her jurisdiction. The Richmond Police department, in its failure to properly supervise its officer admittedly failed to provide adequate training on identifying victims of sexual exploitation an abuse, allowed improper access to criminal databases and failed to put in place adequate policy| and training on social media use. These officers, their supervisors and city and county employers either directly engage in, stood by with a blind eye, or acted to cover up this modern-day slavery of J.A. by their owi swom officers in order to engage in sexual acts with her. They coerced J.A. to continue sucl TORT CLAIM - 3acts for her so-called protection. These acts constitute unlawful forced labor, trafficking int servitude and sex trafficking, fraud and coercion and have caused J.A. to suffer unimaginabl abuse, pain, and suffering that she and her family will endure for the rest of her life. JURISDICTION AND VENUE Claimant brings this claim pursuant to Government Code Section 910 et seq. Any delay in bringing this claim is excused by the nature of the allegations against Respondents. Claimant, a teenager being trafficked for sex by police officers and sheriff's deputies, is excused. Th Respondents’ conduct is inapposite to state laws including, but not limited to, Penal Cod Section 236.2 and 236.5, and therefore Respondents are estopped from asserting the defense that Defendant failed to bring her claim timely. PARTIES 1. Claimant is a teenage victim of statutory rape and sex trafficking. 2. Respondent City of Richmond is a municipal corporation and the employer of the named| officers below. 3. Respondent Richmond Police Department is a department of the City of Richmond and the employer of the named officers below. 4. Named Police Officer respondents are 1) AH. 2) Fy 3.) AM. 4) MR 5) 2. DOE DEFENDANTS 5. Claimant does not know the true names and capacities, whether individual, corporate, associate, or otherwise of Respondent Does 1 through SO inclusive and therefore sues thes Respondents by such fictitious names. Claimant will amend her claim to allege their true names and capacities when this has been ascertained. RESPONDENT SUPERIOR13 a as 16 ae 19 20 6. Alll of the described conduct, acts, and failures to act are attributed to agents and employees under the direction and control, and with the permission, consent and authorization o! Respondent City and Agency. Said acts, conduct, and failures to act were within the scope of such agency and/or employment, and each Respondent City and Agency ratified the acts ani omissions of each of the other Respondent City and Agency. Each of these acts and failures t act is alleged against each Respondent City and Agency whether acting individually, jointly, o severally. At all times relevant herein, each Respondent was acting within the course and scop\ of his or her employment STATEMENT OF FACTS 7. Claimant is a teenage victim of sex trafficking. Prior to J.A. tuning 18, in 2015 she met Oakland Potice Officer Brendan O'Brien (deceased) while she was running ftom a pimp. Having come into contact with a minor running from her pimp, Officer O’Brien was obligated unde California Penal Code 236.2 to make certain inquires regarding J.A.’s wellbeing. Instead o' protecting J.A. from sexual exploitation, Officer O’Brien began sexually exploiting the minor LA. himself. 8. In addition to Officer O*Brien. other officers and deputies also sexually exploited JA. when she was a minor, and continuing into 2016, after she turned 18, providing her protection! and information about police business for sexual favors. None of them ever offered he information or help in escaping from sexual exploitation. Claimant alleges on information and belief that the respondent police officers knew or should have known that she was a vietim o wafficking and failed to take action to protect her. Instead, they furthered her exploitation bs keeping her trapped in the sex trade for their own sexual gratific n 9. The Richmond Police Department has announced the extent of disciplinary actions to b recommended in the case involving improper conduct by police personnel related to the adul female teenager LA. 10. The proposed disciplinary actions follow a thorough investigation that complied with the Police Officers’ Bill of Rights (PBOR). This investigation involved an examination of over 10,000 text messages and cellular phone records, over 5,000 social media pages, and contact25 26 zi 28 with 45 individuals. Investigators logged 750 work hours in completing the investigation, including 13 hours of recorded, voluntary testimony from the teenage witness over the course of five interview sessions. The final investigative report contains 275 pages of findings. 11. The Police Department's Office of Professional Accountability, which led thé investigation, identified eleven current and former police personnel that were involved in| misconduct. As a result of this misconduct, disciplinary actions are being recommended ag follows: One officer is proposed to be terminated from employment; One officer is proposed t. be demoted; Two officers are proposed to be suspended, one for 80 hours, and the other for 12 hours; Five officers are proposed to receive letters of reprimand. 12, According to Richmond Mayor Tom Butt: “The City of Richmond has worked very har to make the Richmond Police Department a national model for community- involved policing. am both disappointed and outraged that the individual behavior of some Richmond police officers has brought discredit to the department and serves to undermine community trust, know that this outrage is shared by my colleagues on the Richmond City Council.” 13. “I am sorry that the misconduct of these individuals has brought embarrassment to th City of Richmond and the Richmond Police Department,” stated Richmond Police Chief Allwy1 Brown. “Police officers must be held to a higher standard with regard to theit personal and professional conduct because their effectiveness in serving the community depends on th Public's trust. Integrity is indispensable to the position of police officer, and a breach of that integrity will not be tolerated at the Richmond Police Department.” 14, The following officers violated J.A.’s rights by sexually trafficking her between an among police officers and sheriff's deputies throughout the Bay Area or by failing in thei mandatory duty to report the abuse and thereby ratifying the conduct, or by coereing J.A. 1 AH 2. BT. 3. AM, 4. MR. 5: HD. 15. After learning that J.A. was a victim of sexual exploitation, the above referenced Richmond Police Department employees were obligated to protect her from trafficking, coercio TORT CLAIM - 6and exploitation. Instead they continued to exploit her by trading money, information, and/or protection for sex. Instead of helping J.A. find a way out of exploitation, they furthered ani deepened her spiral down into the sex trade. By providing protection and information to J.A. inf exchange for sex, Respondents, and each of them, ensured that J.A. would stay on the streets and be available for their sexual exploitation. CAUSES OF ACTION 16. In taking these actions Respondents violated J.A.’s constitutional, federal, and state rights, Claimant will seek compensation for the following violations: a. Federal Law i. 18 U.S.C. § 1595_Forced Labor, Trafficking Into Servitude, Sex Trafficking of Children Force, Fraud, Coercion i, 18 U.S.C. § 1584 Involuntary Servitude iii, 18 U.S.C. § 1961_Rackateer Influenced and ‘Corrupt Organizations iv, 42 U.S.C. 1983—Monelf-municipal liability based on final authority v. 42 U.S.C. 1983—Monell-based on ratification. vi. 42 U.S.C. 1983—Monell—based on policy, practice, custom, patter vii. 42 U.S.C. 1983--Supervisory violation viii, 42 U.S.C. 1985—Conspiracy ix, 42 U.S.C. 1985 (2) — Conspiracy To Obstruct Justice Though Witness Tampering x. 42 U.S.C. 1985 (2) ~ Conspiracy To Obstruct Justice Though Spoliation Of Evidence xi. 42 U.S.C. 1986 - Failure To Prevent Or Aid In Preventing Wrong Acts D. State Law i, CAL. CIV. CODE § 52 - Action By Victim Of Human. Trafficking ii, Assault iii, Battery iv. False imprisonment v. Negligence vi, Intentional Infliction Of Emotional Distress vii. Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress PRAYER FOR RELIEF 1 For special and economic damages, including lost wages, for all Causes of Action| in the amount of $30,000,000; 2, For general and non-economic damages for all Causes of Action; TORT CLAIM - 74 as 16 a 18 as 20 au 22 23 3. For punitive damages for all Causes of Action against the individual defendants only; 4. For prejudgment interest at the prevailing legal rate; 5. For costs of the suit including reasonable attorney's fees; and 6. For such other and further relief, including injunctive relief, as the Court may deem proper. Dated: September 28, 2016 RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, LAW OFFICES OF BONNER & BONNER AMEN I— t A. Cabral Bonner Attomey for Plaintiff clam - @